Home Sweat Home

These intense 10-minute Youtube home workouts will bust all your excuses for not exercising – and you don’t even have to get out of your pyjamas. AMANDA sweats it out.

VICTORIA’S SECRET 10MIN FAT-BLASTING WORKOUT

http://tinyurl.com/VSfatblast

THE TRAINER Andrea Orbeck, whose high-profile clients include supermodel Heidi Klum, was clear and concise. She is just chatty enough and walks you through each step clearly.

THE WORKOUT Mostly comprising ballet techniques like plies, ballet squats, and arabesques, the workout is designed to help lengthen and strengthen the body. I liked how the time remaining on the workout and the number of reps left for each exercise were displayed at the side of the screen, motivating me to keep going.

The simple movements – mild jumping, moving side to side, and backwards and forwards – were easy to follow and done at a comfortable pace. Perfect for beginners. I breathed easily for the first few minutes but halfway in, the cardio movements, though simple, wore me out. By the end of the workout, I was breathing heavily and wiping sweat off my brow. If you want a harder workout, repeat the video three times.

VERDICT The easy movements and elegant stretches make it attractive to couch potatoes like myself. 9.5

POP PILATES: BODY SLIMMING WORKOUT

http://tinyurl.com/POPbodyslim

THE TRAINER Cassey Ho is bright and cheery, and unlike other supernaturally fit trainers, I related to her easily, especially when she shared all the aches and pains she feels during the workout. Her instructions are clear, and she motivates you by emphasising how your body will change for the better once the workout is done.

THE WORKOUT The volume of the video was too low, so the music and Cassey’s voice were muffled. This is a floor workout so you need a yoga mat and enough space to move. The exercises concentrate on your core and each movement is very slow, deliberate and controlled, which I found extremely tiring. The pilates moves were tough at first, but Cassey offered easier alternatives for the more challenging ones, such as side planks, where I had to turn on my side and balance on my forearm and the side of my foot.

I took the easier option and placed my knee on the ground to support myself. I did the workout a few more times and found my core was indeed stronger, and that I could move into the different exercises more quickly. I made sure to do each exercise properly, and found I was sore and aching the next day.

VERDICT A tough workout to build core strength. It’s slow and strength-building, so you won’t perspire much but will still feel the burn. 8

FAT BLAST: 10MIN WORKOUT

http://tinyurl.com/10minFatBlast

THE TRAINERS The two-man duo known as The Lean Machines were too chatty for me, and I found their overlapping conversations distracting.

THE WORKOUT Like the Victoria’s Secret workout, this one also had a countdown timer that kept me motivated right to the end. I appreciated how well the guys worked together – one would demonstrate an exercise while the other would show how to do an easier version of it. They also showed the right and wrong postures for each move. The moves were fairly simple but tough on the body.

It’s a typical High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout, with each high-intensity session broken by a resting phase of a few reps of star jumps. With star jumps as a “rest” exercise, you can see just how intense the workout is. Lots of burpees, planks and explosive jumps are spread throughout – the burn was intense and started two minutes in. I almost couldn’t complete the workout.

VERDICT If you’re looking for something really intense, this is for you. 8

CARDIO DANCE ABS WORKOUT: BURN TO THE BEAT BY KEAIRA LASHAE

http://tinyurl.com/CardioDanceBeat

THE TRAINER Keaira LaShae is all you could ask for in a trainer. Her bubbly, confident personality was the reason I enjoyed the high-energy workout so much – she’s constantly exhorting viewers to have fun. She also demonstrated steps effectively and gave good prompts for when to switch steps.

THE WORKOUT I had the most fun with this exercise. The easy movements flowed nicely into each other, although you need a good sense of rhythm to keep up; for example, the hipswaying movements are similar to a dance known as “crunking”.

I especially enjoyed the moves where I had to swing my hands around and crunch my abs – I felt like Beyonce. It was liberating to just let loose and move, and a good distraction from how tired I felt during the workout. I perspired – a lot. But I didn’t get any muscle aches the day after.

VERDICT A great, easy-tofollow everyday cardio workout that can help jazz up your regular exercise routine. 8.5